Seamus Coleman urges Ireland team-mates to learn from predecessors
Wednesday 21 November 2018 08:17, UK
Seamus Coleman challenged his Republic of Ireland team-mates to "take the baton" from their predecessors after a "disappointing year".
Martin O'Neill's side failed to reach the World Cup finals in Russia and were relegated to League C in the inaugural UEFA Nations League tournament, winning just one game out of nine overall in 2018.
With the likes of Shay Given, Richard Dunne, John O'Shea, Damien Duff and Robbie Keane having had their time in the green shirt, skipper Coleman has called upon his team-mates to stand up and be counted.
"There's no way of dressing it up, it's been a disappointing year," Coleman said. "It's been a learning curve for myself and some of the other lads who have 40 or 50 caps too.
"We don't have Richard Dunnes, Robbie Keanes and Damien Duffs to carry us through anymore. We have to take that baton now and maybe some of us haven't done that strongly enough.
"The new lads coming in will have learned a lot from this year. That, in a way, is some kind of positive to take from a negative year.
"Mentally we can be a lot stronger going into the games in March. That's how we have to look at it."
With Monday night's 0-0 stalemate in Denmark, Ireland have failed to find the net in 397 minutes of international football, their last goal being an Aiden O'Brien strike in Poland in September.
The clash against the Danes was the second goalless draw in four days, following their game against neighbours Northern Ireland on Thursday evening, in which Republic attracted criticism to the point that they were booed off the field at the end of the game.
"It's hard to enjoy it all the time when you're under pressure," Coleman said. "But you've got to remember what you wanted to play football for, which was to represent your country.
"You've got to take the good with the bad. It's been a tough year, we can learn a lot from it and I think we can improve. We're capable of big nights and we can't forget that.
"We need to step up a little bit more. Come March, I have no doubt that we'll be ready. I know we have to say that, but I truly believe we'll be ready."
Republic of Ireland will start their bid to qualify for their third European Championships finals in a row in the new year.
They will know their group stage opponents at the Euro 2020 qualifiers draw on December 3, where they will be seeded in Pot 3.
